editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Geraldo Rivera of Fox News has described NPR's David Folkenflik as "a really weak-kneed, backstabbing, sweaty-palmed reporter." Others have been kinder. The Columbia Journalism Review, for example, once gave him a "laurel" for reporting that immediately led the U.S. military to institute safety measures for journalists in Baghdad.Based in New York City, Folkenflik is the media correspondent for NPR News. His stories and analyses are broadcast on the network's newsmagazines, such as All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Here & Now, and are featured on NPR's website and mobile platforms. Folkenflik's reports cast light on the stories of our age, the figures who shape journalism and the tectonic shifts affecting the news industry. He profiled the Las Vegas columnist who went bankrupt fending off a libel lawsuit from his newspaper's new owner; conducted the first interview with New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet after his appointment; and chronicled how the demands ofNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94David FolkenflikWed, 07 Dec 2016 06:26:32 +0000David Folkenflikhttp://klcc.org
David FolkenflikAlex Jones has a following. His radio show is carried on more than 160 stations, and he has more than 1.8 million subscribers on YouTube.And he claims to have the ear of the next president of the United States.Jones is also one of the nation's leading promoters of conspiracy theories — some of which take on lives of their own. He has been a chief propagator of untrue and wild claims about a satanic sex trafficking ring run by one of Hillary Clinton's top advisers out of a pizzeria in Washington, D.C.Days before a self-described "investigator" entered the pizzeria and fired off several rounds, Jones suggested he might investigate in person."I may just have to take off a week and just only research this and actually go to where these places are and stuff," Jones said. "Fact, I'm looking at getting on a plane. ... I can't just say something and not see it for myself. They go to these pizza places. There's like satanic art everywhere."The Daily Beast reported the shooter was a fan onRadio Conspiracy Theorist Claims Ear Of Trump, Pushes 'Pizzagate' Fictionshttp://klcc.org/post/radio-conspiracy-theorist-claims-ear-trump-pushes-pizzagate-fictions
60138 as http://klcc.orgWed, 07 Dec 2016 01:10:00 +0000Radio Conspiracy Theorist Claims Ear Of Trump, Pushes 'Pizzagate' FictionsDavid FolkenflikDonald Trump is meeting with The New York Times after all, despite announcing by Tweet early Tuesday morning that he was canceling sessions with the paper's executives and journalists.It continued a whirlwind 24 hours of Trump's mixed messages to the media.The president-elect kicked it off Monday with a session in which he had invited television news anchors and executives to establish a new working relationship, only to berate them for what he termed unfair campaign coverage. He then told them he wanted a reset with the press.Early Tuesday, Trump tweeted that the Times had sought to change the ground rules of their planned meetings, which he termed "not nice."The top spokeswoman for the newspaper, Eileen Murphy, contradicted Trump's account in an email to NPR. Murphy said that the Times "was unaware that the meeting was cancelled until we saw the President-Elect's tweet this morning."She said there had been two planned sessions: The first, a smaller one, was to be off-the-record. AtTrump Is Meeting With 'The New York Times' After Allhttp://klcc.org/post/trump-announces-twitter-he-canceled-meeting-new-york-times
59575 as http://klcc.orgTue, 22 Nov 2016 14:28:00 +0000Trump Is Meeting With 'The New York Times' After AllDavid FolkenflikCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit WERTHEIMER, HOST: Here's a headline for you - "Pope Francis Shocks The World, Endorses Donald Trump." That was the most shared story on Facebook during this election season according to a BuzzFeed investigation. Just one problem, it's completely fake, made-up, not true. And fake election stories like that were all over the internet. That's led to a lot of soul-searching for internet giants like Facebook. On Friday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talked about ways the company might correct that problem while still allowing users to post whatever they want. To learn more, we turned to NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik. Hi, David. DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Hey, Linda. WERTHEIMER: So how big was the problem of fake news in this election season, do you think? I mean, how important was it? FOLKENFLIK: We don't exactly know. People from President Obama on down certainly have cited it as part of the - a melange of misinformation. Journalists, I thinkMark Zuckerberg Addresses Fake News On Facebookhttp://klcc.org/post/mark-zuckerberg-addresses-fake-news-facebook
59487 as http://klcc.orgSat, 19 Nov 2016 22:21:00 +0000Mark Zuckerberg Addresses Fake News On FacebookDavid FolkenflikSteve Bannon, the newly named chief strategist for the nascent Trump White House, boasts a resume packed with a series of seeming non sequiturs. He had a stint in the U.S. Navy, worked for a stretch at Goldman Sachs, became a Hollywood investor who made a fortune off Seinfeld reruns, and ran the secretive experimental community Biosphere 2 outside Tucson, Ariz.Then there's the line on the resume drawing all the controversy: Bannon's time as executive chairman of Breitbart, turning the right-wing news site into the platform of the so-called alt-right, as he once told Mother Jones magazine.That online community coalesced around the conviction that the Republican Party and establishment conservatives have turned their backs on a vision of America deeply influenced by nationalist thought, some of which is overtly racist. Certain alt-right adherents have unleashed a wave of anti-Semitic, racist and misogynist vitriol online against supporters of Trump's rival Republicans, Clinton voters andEx-Breitbart Executive Brings Alt-Right Ties To The White House http://klcc.org/post/ex-breitbart-executive-brings-alt-right-ties-white-house
59303 as http://klcc.orgTue, 15 Nov 2016 20:52:00 +0000Ex-Breitbart Executive Brings Alt-Right Ties To The White House David FolkenflikFrom pretty much the very start of this election season, Donald Trump grabbed the media by the press pass. He didn't even wait. As Trump, a former reality show host, once said in a slightly different context, "When you're a star, they let you do it."This week, a wave of assessments of the media's performance during this presidential race has encouraged reporters and news outlets to take a bow, like award winners on Graduation Day.There's been a fair amount to admire — but I think many journalists will reflect on this race and want to take a shower instead.Let's count the ways.It's been decades since the press has been so owned by a major candidateHillary Clinton, though famous and popular worldwide, has emerged as a seriously flawed candidate for domestic consumption. She was tainted by her husband's previous seedy personal behavior, and her stature was clouded by a series of second-tier scandals that never succeeded in knocking her out. She was otherwise a highly qualified,Weary Press Corps Can Celebrate Election's End, Then Survey Wreckage http://klcc.org/post/weary-press-corps-can-celebrate-elections-end-then-survey-wreckage
58971 as http://klcc.orgTue, 08 Nov 2016 13:12:00 +0000Weary Press Corps Can Celebrate Election's End, Then Survey Wreckage David FolkenflikCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit MARTIN, HOST: The scrutiny of Hillary Clinton and her emails in the final days of the presidential campaign led to a remarkable report and retraction this week by a Fox News anchor. Fox News' Bret Baier apologized this week for a report in which he said, without foundation, that an indictment of Hillary Clinton was likely to result from the FBI's investigation of the Clinton Foundation. But the claim continues to reverberate in the conservative media and on the campaign trail. Correspondent David Folkenflik covers the media for NPR, and he's with us now to talk about this. So, David, tell us what Bret Baier said first. And what did he say in his apology? DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Well, in his report, which he repeated on the air, he talked about two different things which had been kind of clustered together in some ways. He reported that the Clinton Foundation investigation is far broader and more serious than people have been reporting and beenFox News Anchor Apologizes For False Report http://klcc.org/post/fox-news-anchor-apologizes-false-report
58874 as http://klcc.orgSat, 05 Nov 2016 21:11:00 +0000Fox News Anchor Apologizes For False Report David FolkenflikATAT&T Deal For Time Warner Casts Renewed Attention On CNN http://klcc.org/post/att-deal-time-warner-casts-renewed-attention-cnn
58356 as http://klcc.orgTue, 25 Oct 2016 16:36:00 +0000ATDavid FolkenflikCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.'The Press Has Poisoned The Minds Of Our Voters': Unpacking Trump's Claimshttp://klcc.org/post/press-has-poisoned-minds-our-voters-unpacking-trumps-claims
58141 as http://klcc.orgThu, 20 Oct 2016 20:23:00 +0000'The Press Has Poisoned The Minds Of Our Voters': Unpacking Trump's ClaimsDavid FolkenflikThe whirling dervish that is Donald J. Trump spun ever-faster on Thursday, shredding almost everything in his range of vision — Hillary Clinton, his fellow Republicans who fail to support him unequivocally, the growing chorus of women accusing him of sexual misconduct, and especially the press.In just the past 24 hours, Trump threatened to sue The New York Times for recounting the stories of two accusers; he slammed the media for serving, in his telling, as a wing of Clinton's campaign; and he called a reporter from The Associated Press "a sleazebag" for daring to ask him about those accusations.Trump also denounced a reporter for People magazine who said he forced himself upon her at his Florida estate, as she waited to do an interview of Trump and his wife, Melania. At a rally Thursday, Trump suggested the woman was not attractive enough to merit his attention: "Look at her," he said, before noting, "Look at her words. I don't think so."Trump noted at the rally Thursday, "The onlyFeeling Burned By The Media, Trump Turns Up The Heathttp://klcc.org/post/trump-threatens-sue-new-york-times-over-sex-abuse-allegations
57872 as http://klcc.orgThu, 13 Oct 2016 23:24:00 +0000Feeling Burned By The Media, Trump Turns Up The HeatDavid FolkenflikIt is one of the most recognizable shows on television — a mainstay for nearly a half-century, with a theme song promising, "Sunny day, sweepin' the clouds away."Yet dark financial clouds have hovered over Sesame Street's parent company in recent years.Sesame Workshop President and CEO Jeffrey Dunn took office little more than two years ago. In an expansive interview with NPR, Dunn sketched out his vision to ensure the show's survival and the nonprofit company's ability to adhere to its mission: "Are we helping a kid grow smarter, stronger and kinder?" Dunn asks. "That's the way we evaluate everything that we do."Dunn, 61, is a soft-spoken man who offers a blunt prognosis of existential peril for Sesame. "If we didn't change — don't change — we don't exist 10 years from now. Maybe five years from now," Dunn tells NPR. "I mean, we were losing large amounts of money."A look at Sesame's financial statements and tax forms help to buttress his argument. They also help to explain why it laidErasing Red Ink, Sesame CEO Offers Vision To Preserve Home Of Big Birdhttp://klcc.org/post/erasing-red-ink-sesame-ceo-offers-vision-preserve-home-big-bird
57843 as http://klcc.orgThu, 13 Oct 2016 18:55:00 +0000Erasing Red Ink, Sesame CEO Offers Vision To Preserve Home Of Big BirdDavid FolkenflikCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit MONTAGNE, HOST: NBC News has indefinitely suspended Billy Bush, co-host of the "Today" show. The now infamous 11-year-old video released last week that revealed Bush engaging in coarse, degrading talk about women with Donald Trump, that's what it's all about. At the time, Bush was co-host of "Access Hollywood." (SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO) BILLY BUSH: Sheesh, your girl's hot as [expletive] - in the purple. DONALD TRUMP: Whoa. Whoa. BUSH: Yes. Yes, the Donald has scored. MONTAGNE: The footage has raised questions about NBC News itself. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik is in New York, here to talk to us. Good morning. DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Good morning, Renee. MONTAGNE: OK, we've heard a lot about what Donald Trump said. We just heard a bit of his exchange with Billy Bush, who, for those who haven't heard, is a cousin of former candidate Jeb Bush. What else did Billy Bush have to say on that recording? FOLKENFLIK: Well, he was rating women, asNBC Suspends Billy Bush For His Role On Trump Videohttp://klcc.org/post/nbc-suspends-billy-bush-his-role-trump-video
57704 as http://klcc.orgMon, 10 Oct 2016 09:00:00 +0000NBC Suspends Billy Bush For His Role On Trump VideoDavid FolkenflikFor all the changes wrought by the sexual harassment scandal that brought down former Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, the Murdoch family that controls the network has held one goal paramount: to maintain continuity.After a lawsuit filed by former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson unleashed a wave of allegations, Ailes and a coterie of his associates were purged and a new day declared. But with few exceptions, the senior executives who led Fox News remain in place, notably Ailes' former chief deputy, Bill Shine. Rupert Murdoch, who sits atop parent company 21st Century Fox, elevated Shine this summer to co-president of the network.The greatest threat to that continuity could lie in the lawsuit filed by suspended Fox News host Andrea Tantaros, who has sued Fox, Ailes and a raft of current Fox News executives, including Shine. In court papers to be filed Wednesday, her lawyers offer fresh support for her allegations. Especially notable are the elements involving Shine and other current FoxSuspended Host's Lawsuit Casts Shadow Over Fox News' New Presidenthttp://klcc.org/post/suspended-hosts-lawsuit-casts-shadow-over-fox-news-new-president
57195 as http://klcc.orgWed, 28 Sep 2016 15:04:00 +0000Suspended Host's Lawsuit Casts Shadow Over Fox News' New PresidentDavid FolkenflikMonday night's debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will be the first time the two square off directly during this general election campaign. At such moments, the stakes are invariably characterized as high for the candidates, their presidential prospects on the brink of success or ruin.Or maybe not. As the Dartmouth College political scientist Brendan Nyhan recently wrote in the Columbia Journalism Review, "political science research suggests that [debates] rarely cause a significant change in the polls."Here's someone to whom Monday's event will matter a lot: moderator Lester Holt, the lead anchor for the NBC Nightly News and the third person on that stage at Hofstra University in Long Island.Holt is something of the accidental anchor. He ascended to the top role last year after NBC's Brian Williams' self-inflicted career sabotage, when Williams was found to have spun inflated tales of the perils he faced reporting in Iraq and New Orleans.Holt has been the dependable Mr.Lester Holt's Momenthttp://klcc.org/post/lester-holts-moment
57068 as http://klcc.orgSun, 25 Sep 2016 15:11:00 +0000Lester Holt's MomentDavid FolkenflikCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.What Is The Media's Responsibility When Reporting Hacked Information?http://klcc.org/post/what-medias-responsibility-when-reporting-hacked-information
56831 as http://klcc.orgSat, 17 Sep 2016 21:12:00 +0000What Is The Media's Responsibility When Reporting Hacked Information?David FolkenflikCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit CORNISH, HOST: The parent company of Fox News has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes, the channel's former chairman and CEO. This was the case brought by former Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson. Twenty-First Century Fox also apologized to Carlson. NPR's David Folkenflik has more on the woman who took Ailes down. DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Debra Katz is agog. DEBRA KATZ: This is a very unprecedented settlement. It's enormous. FOLKENFLIK: Katz is a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights attorney who has handled sexual harassment cases for more than three decades. Katz says the apology is even more astonishing. KATZ: It suggests that Carlson clearly had the goods on Ailes. FOLKENFLIK: At Fox News, Carlson appeared diligent and dutiful, hardly preparing us for what ensued this summer. On air, Carlson emphasized Ailes' favorite topics, such as the deadly disaster at Benghazi. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)Gretchen Carlson: The Woman Who Brought Down Fox News' Roger Aileshttp://klcc.org/post/gretchen-carlson-woman-who-brought-down-fox-news-roger-ailes
56329 as http://klcc.orgTue, 06 Sep 2016 20:35:00 +0000Gretchen Carlson: The Woman Who Brought Down Fox News' Roger AilesDavid FolkenflikCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit INSKEEP, HOST: We have news of an apology from Fox News today. The channel and its parent company are also paying former host Gretchen Carlson $20 million, all part of a settlement of her sexual harassment lawsuit accusing the former Fox leader Roger Ailes. NPR's David Folkenflik has been covering this story. Good morning, David. DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve. INSKEEP: OK, $20 million - a lot of money. Does it come with a real apology? FOLKENFLIK: Oh, it does. It sure does. It is a lot of money. I've talked to a couple lawyers who monitor this issue, a question of sexual harassment. They couldn't recall a single person ever being paid so much for a sexual harassment claim. The apology is quite real. Let me read you part of it. Fox News and 21st Century Fox, a parent company, said, quote (reading) during her tenure at Fox News, Gretchen exhibited the highest standards of journalism and professionalism. And the statement went on toFormer Fox Host Gretchen Carlson Gets Apology, $20M Settlementhttp://klcc.org/post/former-fox-host-gretchen-carlson-gets-apology-20m-settlement
56306 as http://klcc.orgTue, 06 Sep 2016 16:12:00 +0000Former Fox Host Gretchen Carlson Gets Apology, $20M SettlementDavid FolkenflikCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit NPR.Allegations Reveal How Roger Ailes Ran Fox News By Projecting Powerhttp://klcc.org/post/allegations-reveal-how-roger-ailes-ran-fox-news-projecting-power
56186 as http://klcc.orgFri, 02 Sep 2016 20:32:00 +0000Allegations Reveal How Roger Ailes Ran Fox News By Projecting PowerDavid FolkenflikHillary Clinton has not held a single press conference since the start of 2016, triggering charges that she's trying to duck questions from reporters on the campaign trail.Clinton and her senior campaign aides say that's absurd. They have pointed repeatedly to what they call the swiftly growing number of interviews she has granted. In late May, for example, Clinton told CNN's Jake Tapper she had already done nearly 300 interviews. Last Sunday, campaign manager Robbie Mook told CBS's John Dickerson, "She's been in more than 300 interviews with reporters this year alone."A review by NPR of those numbers suggests those claims by the campaign were at once true and somewhat misleading — some were conducted by unlikely questioners, and overall she favored local radio and national TV hits over granting interviews with national reporters covering her on the campaign trail and with print publications.In preparing an earlier story on Clinton's lack of press conferences, NPR set out to secure aHas Hillary Clinton Actually Been Dodging The Press?http://klcc.org/post/has-hillary-clinton-actually-been-dodging-press
55845 as http://klcc.orgFri, 26 Aug 2016 12:42:00 +0000Has Hillary Clinton Actually Been Dodging The Press?David FolkenflikCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit MCEVERS, HOST: Hillary Clinton and her campaign aides keep getting asked when she will hold a news conference. The most recent one happened last December. In their defense, the Clinton campaign points to how many interviews Clinton has given - they say more than 300 this year. NPR's David Folkenflik obtained a full database of all of Clinton's interviews since January 1, and he breaks down her strategy by looking at a single month. DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: By April, Hillary Clinton had not yet sealed the deal among Democratic voters. Eight primaries took place that month. Clinton spoke to The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board for 50 minutes in advance of its endorsements. She said she was calling for criminal justice reform. (SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE) HILLARY CLINTON: Calling to end the era of mass incarceration. And, of course, I am calling for common sense gun safety measures to protect people. FOLKENFLIK: Philadelphia, at the easternHillary Clinton's April Interviews Offer Insight Into Media Strategyhttp://klcc.org/post/hillary-clintons-april-interviews-offer-insight-media-strategy
55846 as http://klcc.orgFri, 26 Aug 2016 12:02:00 +0000Hillary Clinton's April Interviews Offer Insight Into Media StrategyDavid FolkenflikFor Gawker Media's websites to live, Gawker.com, the actual namesake website, has to die. It will be shut down next week by its new owner, a victim of its own poisoned legacy.Any obituary should start by acknowledging the good the subject rendered to the world. There's no reason not to do that here, other than the extent to which that impulse might appall some of Gawker's own writers were it a piece about the demise of another publication.Gawker itself was born of the insight of founder Nick Denton, who quite rightly concluded that what journalists told one another over drinks was invariably more interesting than what actually appeared in print, online or on the air. He set out to correct that in 2003, with a publication that knit together news analysis and gossip in the same stories. It was, as former Gawker editor Max Read recently wrote, "an endlessly scrolling, eternally accessible record of prattle and wit and venom."Its offerings were often brutally satiric and unsparing in theirOn The Demise Of Gawker.com: Unsparing, Satiric And Brutalhttp://klcc.org/post/demise-gawkercom-unsparing-satiric-and-brutal
55556 as http://klcc.orgFri, 19 Aug 2016 21:11:00 +0000On The Demise Of Gawker.com: Unsparing, Satiric And Brutal